


don't play me (i'm a fire)

by chuugum (bonsvii)



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Angst, Demon Powers, Dialogue Heavy, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Getting Together, Heaven & Hell, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Supernatural Elements, updating tags as I go along
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:27:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28653486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bonsvii/pseuds/chuugum
Summary: Sooyoung hates angels, and she especially hates Kim Jiwoo. (Such a shame she's in love with her too.)
Relationships: Ha Sooyoung | Yves/Kim Jiwoo | Chuu, Jung Jinsol | Jinsoul/Kim Jungeun | Kim Lip, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Park Chaewon | Go Won/Son Hyejoo | Olivia Hye
Comments: 13
Kudos: 49





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> disclaimer !! this will most likely not have a happy ending !! pls don't read if that's not your thing i don't want anyone to be sad :(( there's also quite a lot of conflict between the characters and some of them can come off a bit mean at times bc yk,, they're enemies lol
> 
> sO if you like suffering,, welcome <3  
> this chapter is kind of just an intro so sorry if it seems a bit factual (?) i promise it'll get better wsjkshhshd  
> should also probably mention that this is completely unrelated to the loonaverse bc i'm not big brained enough to include lore lol
> 
> title is taken from snake by halflives

Sooyoung supposes the concept of angels and demons is a little odd. She certainly didn’t believe in it all when she was alive, anyway. Humans are cynical by nature — always questioning, always doubting, always looking for rationality — but logic doesn’t matter in Hell. It’s probably easier to live thinking that the concept of life after death is easy and organised, or that it doesn’t exist at all, but the reality is that Hell is a lot closer to Earth than most humans would like to believe.

It falls to Sooyoung, as a soul collector, to visit dying people and induct them to Hell, where they are destined to also become demons. And, if she’s honest, it isn’t terrible work. After decades of doing it, she’s learnt to derive pleasure from having the privilege of visiting Earth, which most demons can only dream of. There isn’t much guilt involved, either. The souls she collects are mostly belonging to the most morally repugnant people — murderers, abusers, rapists — and, though she recognises there are causes for everyone’s actions, she can’t bring herself to lose sleep over the fact they’re in Hell. They’ll soon forget their old lives, anyway.

Sooyoung herself can barely remember her life as a human. She can only collate a handful of things to piece together an idea of what it was like — scents, locations, feelings. The specifics faded long ago. She’s had to begin again here by finding new companions, the closest of whom are Chaewon and Hyejoo. Hyejoo is on the Hell Council, making her one of the most influential demons in the entire underworld, whilst Chaewon is a soul collector like Sooyoung. As a result, the two of them don’t see each other as often as they’d like, Chaewon often lamenting that she misses her girlfriend more than life itself. Sooyoung suspects she probably isn’t lying. 

Today, however they walk arm in arm to the government building Hyejoo works at, Sooyoung left to trail slightly behind, not wanting to interrupt their conversation. She manages to catch snippets of it — something about a meeting with angels. Sooyoung has heard a lot of talk about angels. She knows they’re stuck up, snobbish and obnoxiously joyful, all traits she’d rather not have to deal with. But, despite all of the rumours, she has only seen an angel once, decades ago, when there was a similar meeting and she was passing through. The only way to possibly describe them is  _ bright _ — so blindingly bright that Sooyoung remembers physically losing her breath, skin tingling with discomfort. Angels and demons are not meant to mix. Everyone likes it that way.

Chaewon presses a kiss to Hyejoo’s cheek as they part ways, her dark eyes tinged with an emotion that Sooyoung can’t quite place — longing, perhaps. For the most part, Sooyoung has fallen out of touch with emotions such as that; demons aren't really capable of feeling love or anything similar, not with any depth, anyway. Instead, they’re stuck chasing lust and shallow connections that are more about convenience than anything else.

The next fifteen minutes is spent walking with Chaewon to the Port, the entrance to the human realm. They receive their assignment for the coming week — to successfully collect two young female souls with violent deaths. Sooyung and Chaewon groan in unison. Young souls are always most difficult to deal with; there’s far too much fire in their spirits and far too much fighting back. Despite it being far more boring and monotonous, most soul collectors would much rather pick up an old creep who died in his sleep than some cocky young offender. But there isn’t much she can do as she and Chaewon are pulled through one of the doorways by a bright stream of light, feeling the familiar prickling all over their skin as they cross the veil.

They emerge on a busy street, as is usually customary. Though they’re invisible to the human eye, disturbances in the atmosphere or natural surroundings sometimes occur as a result of travel between realms, so, unless they’re searching for a particular person, they tend to materialise somewhere with plenty of humans milling about to minimise the risk of being noticed.

“How do you wanna do this?” Chaewon asks, scoping out the area. It’s dark and there are bars up ahead, drunken people wandering around aimlessly, swerved by the odd sober person returning from work or errands. Easy pickings. There are undoubtedly evil people who will die violently tonight.

“Let’s hang around side streets, alleyways, that sort of thing. There’s always more crime where there are less people.” Sooyoung replies, sounding somewhat distracted. “You’re joking…” She grits out, annoyed. Her eyes have locked on to a group of voids congregating on a street corner. They’re the ones that don’t make it, the useless ones — not good enough for Heaven, not bad enough for Hell — empty of any criteria that could be used to calculate which destination they’d end up at.

Chaewon catches on quickly, following Sooyoung’s gaze. “Voids.” A sigh. “You know we have to deal with them.” As soul collectors, they encounter voids on a fairly regular basis, but it’s rare they group up like this, normally choosing to remain alone in their eternal misery. Poor bastards. Singular voids aren’t dangerous. They have no real power or influence and it’s rare they cause any problems. Groups, however, are another story. When working together, they can execute feats such as human possession, and it then becomes the task of demons and angels working on Earth to dispose of them permanently. However, Sooyoung makes no effort to move towards them to do so. “Come on! There are only a few of them.” Chaewon grabs her hand, dragging her over to them.

Sooyoung spits on the ground in front of them. “Filthy voids. Let’s get this—” She’s cut off by her own gasp, one of the voids lunging towards her, ashen arms outstretched. It grasps her torso, knocking the breath from her lungs as she stumbles over, Chaewon facing a similar fate from one of the other voids, falling to the concrete with an alarmed cry. The void atop Sooyoung wraps its grotesque fingers around her upper arm, squeezing tightly and somehow slicing through her flesh, opening a large wound and causing her to cry out. With panic setting in, she writhes desperately, looking sideways to see Chaewon doing the same. The time for action is now. But what is there to do? She can’t reach the knife in her boot from here, which she would usually use to vanquish voids. 

Seeing her best friend in pain does something to Sooyoung. The void attacking Chaewon has its hands around her throat now, her eyes bulging with the force it’s exerting. Blackness trickles down its arms and down Chaewon’s neck and chest, a sure sign that she’s been slashed in a similar way to Sooyoung. A strange burning feeling spreads through Sooyoung’s entire body, beginning at her feet and flowing through her, collecting at her eyes and palms. Rage simmers beneath her skin, filling her entire being until it's released in a hot surge, black flames engulfing the voids. They howl in pain, thrashing around in an attempt to extinguish themselves, which is ultimately futile. They crumble to the floor, carcasses nothing but dust, and the heat leaves Sooyoung’s body immediately, leaving her panting on the ground beside an unconscious Chaewon. Before her eyes close to join Chaewon in unconsciousness, they land on the building behind where the voids were standing, seeing it is completely swallowed by fire.

***

“I saw what you did yesterday.” Hyejoo’s voice is scarily neutral, black eyes staring into Sooyoung’s own across the table. Sooyoung knows this isn’t a social visit.

“I know.” She isn’t sure how else to respond in this situation, having no explanation to any question Hyejoo may ask. Whatever had happened to allow her to destroy those voids had been no accident, nor had it been something ever heard of before. 

“Is that really all you have to say? Do you realise how serious this is?” Her tone has shifted to be soft and pitying, and Sooyoung suddenly thinks that’s a whole lot worse than the unnerving emptiness of earlier. 

Sooyoung avoids eye contact, gazing at a crack in the wall behind Hyejoo’s head. “I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t know what happened.” Her eyes meet Hyejoo’s again. “But I got Chaewon home safe, didn’t I? Isn’t that what matters?”

Hyejoo sighs, exasperated. “I know, and I’m grateful. Fuck, I don’t know what I’d do if…” She shakes her head, as if to dispel her thoughts. “But this can’t just go ignored — you know that. As a council member, I have responsibilities. I have to keep everyone safe!”

Sooyoung’s eyes fill with tears. “Tell me you didn’t.” And it’s Hyejoo’s turn to look away. “Hyejoo! Tell me… you didn’t call on her.” A thick silence blankets the air between them. “Hyejoo!” Sooyoung is openly sobbing now, the tears burning her skin. Demons don’t cry.

“I didn’t have another choice!” She breathes deeply in and out, lowering her voice and regaining her composure. “She’ll be here soon.” 

There’s a thundering knock at the door as if the council leader has been listening in, choosing this exact moment to make her presence known. Sooyoung wouldn’t be surprised if she had been. Neither of them make any movement to unlock the door, and not needing to, as Jinsol strides in as confidently as if it were her own home. “Ha Sooyoung?” She doesn’t wait for a reply. “It has come to the attention of the Hell Council that an incident occurred yesterday which resulted in the destruction of a human bank. Can you confirm that you were present during this event?” Sooyoung nods timidly. “Can you also confirm that it was you who set the building alight?”

Sooyoung blanks out for a moment, receiving a disdainful glance from Jinsol. “I didn’t— I mean, it wasn’t—”

Jinsol looks at her boredly, as if she’d preempted this response. “Yes or no, Sooyoung-ssi?” 

Sooyoung hangs her head, admitting defeat. “Yes.”

“In that case,” she clears her throat. “We, the Hell Council, extend an invitation to you, Ha Sooyoung, to attend today’s meeting with the Heaven Council.”

Sooyoung’s heart stops for a moment, stuttering in her chest as she processes the words. Her, a soul collector, invited to a council meeting? With  _ angels _ present? A sickening feeling of dread fills her chest. This cannot be good.

“ _ Because _ ,” Jinsol scowls, and Sooyoung realises with horror that she said all of that aloud, “this is a serious matter which must be dealt with appropriately. You’d do well to remember your place, Sooyoung-ssi.”

“Yes, Hell Council leader.”

“Don’t bother going to work today, your task has been reassigned to another team. Be at the Hell Council chambers in one hour.” She leaves as swiftly as she arrived, Hyejoo tagging along behind her and turning around to shoot Sooyoung a sad glance as they both step out of the door. The thud of it closing behind them is the final straw for Sooyoung, who collapses onto the floor, head in her hands. She shouldn’t be worried like this, she’s Ha Soyoung. She’s a demon. She doesn’t answer to anyone. Except… she does. Because, even in death, there are bullshit rules and bullshit leaders enforcing them. 

The hour goes by painfully slowly, Sooyoung not even moving from her spot on the floor. The cold tile bites into her flesh and she’s folded in such a way that her arm injury is pressed painfully against her chest, but she finds she doesn’t have it in her to particularly care. Her mind is busy, thinking thoroughly about every possible outcome of this situation, and realising that she has absolutely no idea what they’re going to say to her. The uncertainty makes her feel sick.

Her legs move robotically in the direction of the Hell Council chambers, her mind barely registering the movement, nor what is to come, having almost entirely dissociated. She knocks timidly on the meeting room door, taking a deep breath and pushing it open when she hears Jinsol call her in. To her surprise, the room is empty sans the council leader and Hyejoo, who sit at the end of the table farthest from the door. 

“Have a seat, Sooyoung-ssi.” There is a surprising lack of malice in Jinsol’s voice, which perhaps even teeters on the side of pleasant. Sooyoung bows before choosing the chair beside Hyejoo, who grabs her hand under the table, instantly squeezing in reassurance. Just as she’s about to ask Hyejoo what’s going on, Jinsol speaks again. “I apologise for my sternness earlier. Hyejoo-ssi has vouched for you and your work ethic and informs me that this must be a misunderstanding. If that is the case, I’m sure this meeting will be more of a formality than anything else. Everyone else should be arriving soon.” The three of them slip into an uncomfortable silence, Sooyoung feeling relieved but nowhere near relaxed enough to breathe freely or make conversation. Something tells her that this meeting will not be the end of things — she just hopes she’s wrong.

Over the next few minutes, a handful of other demons wander in, only a few of whom Sooyoung recognises, and even fewer of whom she knows the names of. Among these is Kim Jungeun, someone who Sooyoung has looked up to for a long time. She began as a soul collector but, after only a century of work, was promoted to gain a place on the council, an influential member of society. When she was more naive — freshly dead — Sooyoung had hoped to be like her so that she might also make decisions for the good of demonkind. Jungeun takes a seat next to Jinsol, their hands flat on the table in front of them, but pinky fingers crossed over one another’s in a silent show of solidarity (love?) that Sooyoung never expected.

The angels’ arrival is far less grand than Sooyoung had imagined it was going to be. Rather than the flash of blinding light she envisioned, they enter through the door, just like everyone else. Their wings and folded closed on their backs so that they’re barely visible, just peeking out behind their gowns and above their shoulders, so that if it weren’t for the difference in clothing — bright white contrasting with dull grey and brown — demons and angels wouldn’t look so different, after all.

When everyone has taken their seats, Jinsol stands, as does the angel who Sooyoung assumes must be the Heaven Council leader. Everyone else in the room begins chanting all at once, startling Sooyoung, who isn’t sure how to follow along, or if she even should. “Greetings Jo Haseul, elected leader of God’s angels, may Heaven keep you merciful. Greetings Jung Jinsol, elected leader of Lucifer’s demons, may Hell keep you cruel.” Jinsol and Haseul regard one another with something akin to respect, despite each of them being the other’s antithesis. Sooyoung supposes they must have been working together for so many centuries now that there must be some sort of bond between them, whether that be forged in hatred or in affection.

“The reason for meeting is to discuss the competency of demonkind in carrying out their duties on Earth. It has been brought to the attention of the Heaven Council that those in Hell have been causing… disturbances on Earth, and we believe—”

Jinsol’s eyes narrow, dangerously intense heat in the glare she fixes directly on Haseul, who, remarkably, seems unperturbed. “I must interrupt before you go any further, Haseul-ssi. I can assure you that there have been no such disturbances. Yes, there was an isolated… incident, but it caused no problems regarding humankind’s knowledge of our existence. I think we can all agree that angels can be somewhat sensitive when it comes to matters such as these; it is our job, as demons, to collect dying human souls, just as it is an angel’s divine duty to do the same. Demonkind are diligent, and it simply isn’t fair to assess our competency by taking into account only one lapse of judgement.”

“With all due respect, Jinsol-ssi, we are not limiting our judgement to the recent fire in Seoul — this is far more serious.” Jinsol sits, gaze still fiery, but merely simmering as she waits for further information. “We have multiple eyewitness accounts from angels who have seen demons killing humans to collect their souls, rather than awaiting their deaths and assessing who should lay claim on them. What say you, demons? How will you rectify this issue?”

Jinsol lets out an airy giggle, throwing her feet up to rest on the table as Haseul takes her seat, smoothing out her skirt before she does so. “Do you forget that demons feed on human flesh? Do you forget that it is in our very nature to cause harm to others? So what if a few scumbags meet their end a little early? It isn’t as if where they’re going is any good.” There’s a ripple of applause and murmurs of agreement by the other demons around the table, Jungeun looking proudly at Jinsol, who smirks.

A flicker of annoyance flickers across Haseul’s face for the first time, but she quickly schools her expression to be neutral again. Another angel speaks up as Haseul takes a sip of whatever gold liquid is swirling in her glass. Sooyoung doesn’t remember the taste of any drink besides human blood. “But there are lines that cannot be crossed, Hell Council leader! What do you think will happen if you keep increasing your numbers this way? I’ll tell you, since all you demons seem to be too self-absorbed to take any notice of anything outside of your tiny, inward-looking bubble of awareness—” She trails off, noticing that Haseul has raised a hand at her.

“That’s quite enough, Jiwoo-yah.” Her voice is stern and chastising, the entire room looking to the source of the outburst. Angels aren’t supposed to act this way. Angels don’t get angry, and they most definitely don’t shout. The entire room is filled with suspicious whispering, Hyejoo even turning to look at Sooyoung in shared confusion.

“What the Heavenly advisor meant,” Haseul begins explaining, “is that there are fears that demons are killing those who belong in Heaven and claiming their souls for Hell. I’m sure you know how serious something like that would be, don’t you, Jinsol-ssi?” 

Jinsol grits her teeth but nods. “We’ll look into it.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> forgot to mention but the lack of honorifics aside from -ssi will be explained later,, sorry if it reads a bit unnaturally bc of that but it'll make sense later lol

“Demons are weird,” Jiwoo suddenly says, Yeojin turning to look at her. The two of them are reading side by side on Jiwoo’s bed.

“I guess…” Yeojin seems distracted, engrossed in her book. “They’re demons, what do you expect?”

Jiwoo grows agitated, brows furrowing at her friend’s lack of understanding. “I just— they’re so… ugh! They act so entitled, and it’s like… they aren’t special, you know? They’re the rejects. Why do they all have superiority complexes?” 

Just as demons lose their virtues as they enter Hell, angels lose their vices. Or, at least, they’re meant to. The act of wrath displayed by Jiwoo is inevitably causing quite the scene in Heaven, the news of such a rare occurrence having spread like wildfire. But, regardless of how immoral it had been of her, Jiwoo doesn’t regret it. For as long as she can remember, she’s always been determined to do the right thing in every situation, and she knows that is the exact reason she entered Heaven when they did not.

“Woah… chill. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re acting very unangelic right now. Others might not understand the way I do, yeah? Be careful what you say and how you act. Angels are already talking about what happened at the meeting.”

Yeah, as if she needs a reminder. Jiwoo can’t stop replaying the events of the meeting over and over in her mind, shocked at her own outburst. It had been so out of character for her; she’s usually so meek, never one to show that she has such disgusting emotions as rage, or that she even has strong opinions of her own at all. But staring into the tar-black eyes of the demons, hearing them laugh at the Heaven Council leader, had caused anger to boil up within her more than she ever remembers it having done before. Largely, she attests it to the perpetrator of the Seoul fire — Ha Sooyoung. If that hadn’t happened to force Haseul into action (confrontation and fighting are always an angel’s last resort, but a demon’s first), the meeting wouldn’t have taken place at all, and she wouldn’t have been so worked up.

There are tensions simmering between Heaven and Hell, and Jiwoo decides it’s mostly just due to the natural disposition of demons. She’s heard plenty of talk about how it is in Hell, about the crime and suffering. Though it’s technically possible, it is unheard of for angels to kill other angels, but murder is rife in Hell, demonkind constantly ripping one another apart. Fortunately for everyone, a demon has never taken the life of an angel. Jiwoo dreads to think what the consequences of such an action would be.

Jiwoo sighs, exasperated but trying to mask her frustration. “Yeah, sorry, you’re totally right. I’m just feeling pressured at the moment, I guess. Demons are always throwing spanners in the works, you know how it is.”

Yeojin seems to brighten up at the reassurance that everything is fine and normal and perfectly as it should be, easily believing the loosely constructed excuse. “Awh!” She presses a kiss to Jiwoo’s cheek. “Don’t worry, I’ve got your back! Don’t let those stupid demons get to you.” 

“Thanks,” Jiwoo replies softly, grateful for the support, even if it doesn’t address the root of the problem. A beat. “I have to go again today — to Hell, I mean.”

“So soon? Didn’t you sort things out yesterday?” Jiwoo shakes her head, running a hand through her hair. “Wow… no wonder you’re feeling grumpy these days; these demons really like to cause trouble, huh… How are you feeling about going?”

“Overjoyed.” Yeojin frowns; sarcasm is not a quality that angels should possess. “Sorry,” Jiwoo amends, not bothering to give a real answer.

Hours later at the meeting, Jiwoo makes sure to secure a seat right across from Ha Sooyoung, smiling slightly at the way her dark eyes are already narrowed, clearly annoyed by the smugness with which Jiwoo carries herself. She isn’t going to allow herself to be brought down to the level of these bottom-feeders — not today, not ever again. 

“So, we’re back here… again.” Today’s meeting is void of formalities, the Hell Council leader getting straight to the point. “Because the angels like to blame us for everything.”

“Jinsol-ssi,” Haseul warns, “Let’s keep this civil. We need your cooperation if we are to get to the bottom of this most pressing issue.” Jiwoo preens — of course the Heaven Council leader knows how to redirect the conversation so expertly. “Our concern is that there are far too many demons, and not nearly enough angels. As a result of this, the Heaven Council is proposing a limit for the amount of human souls collected by demons each day.” Uproar. The room explodes with shouts from enraged demons, the Hell Council leader remaining silent but looking equally as angry. The foul language they’re spewing feels harsh on Jiwoo’s ears; she will never be fully accustomed to hearing such words, words virtually banned in Heaven, outlawed by an unspoken rule.

“Silence!” Jinsol booms, standing and throwing her fists down at the table, the loud bang echoing around the meeting chamber. Those standing sit once more, still mumbling to one another in vexation. “I agree that balance between the realms is essential.” The protests get louder. “However! I cannot agree to limiting soul collections. What is preventing you from increasing your own numbers? Why must demonkind bear the brunt of this?”

Irritation crawls into Jiwoo’s ribcage, sinking its claws deep into her heart. She takes a breath, pushing the unangelic feelings down and readying herself to speak. “You demons created this problem; it makes sense that you should be the ones to fix it.” She fixes her gaze directly at Ha Sooyoung, who seems… embarrassed?

To Jiwoo’s surprise, it’s she who voices her opinion next. “And what about the voids that would create? If souls aren’t collected, you know as well as I that they’ll become voids, and I don’t think either side — Hell or Heaven — wants that. I’ve had… I  _ know _ what they can be like, especially in large groups. We’d be creating an army to usurp us.” She’s shaking, heat radiating from her almost palpably. “It won’t matter that you think you’re better than us when we’re all dead.”

“We agree to the terms,” Jinsol announces abruptly, the strange tension between Jiwoo and Sooyoung dissipating instantly as the entire room erupts into chaos once more.

***

Jiwoo manages to push thoughts about demons to the back of her mind for a while, busying herself with her other duties — overseeing soul collections, filing paperwork, meeting privately with Haseul. When a few weeks have passed and there is little change in keeping equilibrium between demons and angels, however, she is forced into action. There is to be an increase in the amount of angels on Earth in an attempt to maximise productivity, and Jiwoo has been selected to carry out these duties. It’s safe to say that she is decidedly  _ not _ looking forward to it.

It isn’t as if she resents the task itself — during her early days in Heaven, she enjoyed bringing people to Heaven — but she has worked hard to gain the revered position she currently holds, and she has absolutely no desire to work in potentially close proximity to demons. It’s just her luck, then, that on her first day she comes into contact with a certain Ha Sooyoung. 

She’s standing beside an elderly man who lies in a hospital bed, who smiles as she explains her role to him, closing his eyes to enter a sleep he knows he won’t wake from. (Not on Earth, anyway.) “What the Heaven are you doing here?” Sooyoung practically growls, closing in on Jiwoo.

“Just doing my job, demon. Same as you.” She trains her features into a demure smile, not understanding where the feelings of rage filling her chest are coming from.

“I  _ meant  _ that I didn’t think you’d want to get your pretty wings dirty. I thought you were the Heaven Council leader’s advisor or whatever.” 

Jiwoo doesn’t acknowledge that Sooyoung is completely right, instead focusing on keeping the smile plastered to her face. “My job is multifaceted. I’m here to save human souls, you’re here to drag them to eternal damnation.”

“Exactly,” Sooyoung grits out. “I’m just doing my job.”

Jiwoo smirks at how defensive Sooyoung seems, realising this is a sore spot for her. “Is that why you were so heated at the meeting — your job isn’t fun anymore now that you have a limit?” She plays it off as concern, but it’s obvious to both of them that she's taunting Sooyoung, who draws closer to her, their faces almost touching. 

“What’s to stop me from setting you alight and watching your corpse burn right now?” Jiwoo feels the heat radiating off her, dark eyes clouded with fury. 

“Nothing.” Jiwoo wants to step back, but doesn’t intend on losing this battle of wills, remaining stoic. “But you won’t.”

Sooyoung relents, stepping back and groaning, hand running frustratedly through her hair. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

“Does all the dirt in Hell affect your memory?  _ You _ approached  _ me.  _ You’re the one practically begging for my attention.” If realisation that this is, in fact, exactly what happened flashes across Sooyoung’s face, it’s brief. The heat does disappear from her gaze, however, leaving behind only defeated, extinguished coals. Jiwoo feels slightly guilty as Sooyoung turns and begins walking in the opposite direction, clearly bored of the altercation. “Wait! I’m sorry! I was just kidding…”

“I don’t care. I don’t need to talk to you anymore.” She doesn’t even turn, continuing to walk down the ward towards the exit. Jiwoo’s smile falters and for the first time, she isn’t able to force it back onto her face. 

“I get it!” Sooyoung stops as Jiwoo shouts, looking exhausted if not a little surprised at hearing an angel raise their voice. “I know we have our differences.” Sooyoung’s expression softens a fraction, something extremely uncharacteristic of demons. “You’re evil and I’m goodness epitomised; you’re quite stupid and unwilling to compromise — but I’ll be kind to you. After all, that’s what makes me better than you, right?” Jiwoo’s lips quirk up eagerly, waiting for the smile to be mirrored on Sooyoung’s face. It doesn’t happen. The softness has dissipated, too.

“Just stop trying.”

***

Jiwoo thinks of Sooyoung less and less as time goes on, busy with her duties as both advisor and soul collector. It’s two months before the two of them cross paths again. It’s complete chance that they meet at all, Sooyoung merely passing by as Jiwoo arrives at the government building for a meeting. She isn’t required to attend them anymore now that balance is beginning to be restored, the incident with the bank forgotten. Capricious demons. Jiwoo doesn’t even intend to speak to her; Sooyoung had made it pretty clear the last time they spoke that she has no interest in Jiwoo at all, so why would Jiwoo spare her a thought? But Sooyoung runs up to her, usually dull eyes shining with an emotion Jiwoo simply cannot identify. (Whatever it is, it’s out of place on a demon.)

“Hey… um, how are you?” Sooyoung’s face betrays no hint of emotion, but it’s obvious that she’s been preparing for this moment. The realisation that she has almost certainly been thinking of Jiwoo during their time apart is jarring, and she can’t really wrap her head around it. Sooyoung had told her with chilling clarity that she should stop trying; if she hadn’t meant it, what exactly  _ does _ she want?

“What’s that supposed to mean?” The disbelief is obvious in Jiwoo’s voice.

There’s a strange look of uncertainty in Sooyoung’s eyes, as if she hadn’t expected that to be Jiwoo’s response. “I, um, I haven’t seen you in two months. I was just wondering how you are…”

“The reason you haven’t seen me is because you asked me to stop trying,” Jiwoo replies bluntly, but without a hint of malice, genuinely confused at Sooyoung’s change of heart. “What happened to you hating me? What happened to you staring at me from across the room with enough heat in your gaze to send me up in flame?”

“I don’t think I hate you.” Okay, now Jiwoo is really lost. Isn’t it in the nature of angels and demons to hate one another? Isn’t that how it’s supposed to be — how it always is? How  _ couldn’t _ she hate Jiwoo? Does Jiwoo hate  _ her _ ? 

“Why?” It comes out almost as a whisper, Sooyoung naturally leaning forward ever so slightly to hear better. 

“I don’t know,” she replies simply, looking at Jiwoo… softly? ‘Soft’ should never be an adjective used to describe a demon, but there’s really no other way to put it. “I-I used to, I think. No, I… I  _ did _ hate you. But there’s just something so…” She scrunches her face up in thought. “There’s something different about you — something special.”

Jiwoo blanches, paranoid that Sooyoung has noticed how she doesn’t fit the typical stereotypes that other angels do. The whole ‘not like other angels’ narrative is getting tiring by now; Jiwoo just wants to fit in. She decides her safest option is pretending Sooyoung is completely wrong (as she’s found herself doing more times than she’d like to admit). “I’m just an angel. You’re just a demon. There’s nothing ‘special’ going on here.” Her folded wings twitch in annoyance, a habit she’s been trying to rid herself of in order to play the role of innocent angel more convincingly.

“Okay,” Sooyoung agrees easily, if not seeming a little more guarded now. “You didn’t answer my question, though. How are you?”

Jiwoo sighs. “Fine, I guess. Busy.”

“Doing what?” Sooyoung sounds genuinely interested. Jiwoo chalks it down to how miserable it must be in Hell — the poor thing is probably desperate to know what it’s like in Heaven. She’s probably jealous. 

“I go to Earth a lot these days. I think I forgot how much I actually enjoy collecting souls… it was my job before I became Haseul’s advisor, you see. I even got to visit Paris last week! It’s so pretty at night. There were an annoying amount of voids there, but it was cool nonetheless. Apparently there are more dogs than people there, did you know that? I love dogs; I wish animals went to Heaven with people…” Realising she’s begun rambling, Jiwoo returns her gaze to Sooyoung, whose lips are turned up slightly with the first hints of a smile.

“That’s great!” It sounds strangely sincere. Since when do demons care about anything but inciting chaos and violence?

“What about you?” Jiwoo tells herself she’s asking out of politeness, but she knows there’s more to it than that, curiosity replacing contempt.

“Always the same: go to Earth, collect souls, come home, repeat. Although, there was—” 

“Jiwoo-ssi!” Haseul’s singsong voice cuts Sooyoung off before she can launch into the anecdote she looks so eager to share.

“Sorry, um, I’m gonna have to go.” Jiwoo cringes at the awkwardness that washes over them; it’s as if they’ve both suddenly realised that they’re a demon and an angel, two species not meant to associate in such an amicable manner. “We can continue this some other time?” Jiwoo isn’t sure why she says it, but the relief on Soyoung’s face as the words reach her ears is enough to make her glad she did. 

“I’m sorry… about what I said… on Earth,” Sooyoung rubs her neck sheepishly and Jiwoo realises it’s the first time she’s ever heard a demon apologise for anything.

“Me too.”

“Jiwoo-ssi?” Hearing Sooyoung say her name causes sparks to dance up Jiwoo’s spine. 

“Yes?” She’s breathless.

“Please keep trying.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ty for reading !! lmk your thoughts <3

**Author's Note:**

> ty for reading !! <3


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